Photos: Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
The latest phase of the Rupple Road improvements isn’t quite finished, but drivers can still benefit from the nearly-completed project.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan led a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of a new bridge over Hamestring Creek near the intersection of Rupple Road and Mount Comfort Road. The bridge opened to traffic Tuesday afternoon.
Aside from the new 182-foot bridge, the work focused on relocating a section of Rupple Road to connect with the existing signalized intersection on Mount Comfort Road. The relocated section of Rupple south of the new bridge includes four lanes separated by a median.
Construction is complete on one side of the median, but the final two lanes won’t be ready for about a month. However, Mayor Jordan said he decided to open one side of the median when it was ready to help alleviate some of the traffic issues in the area as soon as possible.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan said the project marks the correction of what he called one of the worst intersections in town.
“This section will reduce congestion and streamline traffic flow, providing a safe road for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians,” Jordan said. “I’ve worked on funding this project since I was on the City Council in 2001. The people helped design this road, and I made a commitment during a Ward 4 meeting that we would take care of this intersection.”
The project was funded through the 2006 voter-approve bond issue, and completes a portion of what is known as “the Mayor’s Box,” a system of four-lane roads enhanced with green space, multi-use trails, and pedestrian sidewalks that will create a multi-modal transportation loop around the city. Additional phases of the Mayor’s Box have been funded through the 2019 voter-approved bond and will begin construction in 2020.
The project also includes a 12-foot-wide multi-use trail along the west side of Rupple Road, and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk along the east side.
